Maryland Microbrewery Festival

Celebrating Maryland Beer and History

About the Homestead

The Union Mills Homestead is a National Historic Landmark, located 7 miles north of Westminster, Maryland. The site was the homestead of Maryland's Shriver family for over 160 years. Union Mills was built in 1797 by two brothers, Andrew and David Shriver, Jr., one of the first early "American Dream" business enterprises. The site included the "union" of two mills, a grist mill and saw mill. Its location was good, with Pipe Creek running through the property and being located at an intersection of the main roads that linked Baltimore with southern Pennsylvania. The wide valley and gentle sloping hills provided good land for grazing, farming, and settlement. Descendents of Andrew Shriver continued to live in the old homestead over the next 160 years. It has seen much history. But for about 4 hours, a major battle might have been fought here during the Civil War, as both Confederate and Union Armies occupied Union Mills on the same date in 1863. The site is now a museum of American culture operated by the Union Mills Homestead Foundation, Inc. in partnership with the Carroll County Government, which owns the site.